1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to mobile station design, and more particularly to a mobile station having a body portion comprised of a plurality of stacked elements. Among other benefits, the plurality of stacked elements provide improved versatility, cost savings, and aesthetic appeal to the mobile station.
2. Description of Related Art
Mobile stations (e.g., mobile phones, PDAs, pagers, laptop computers and the like) have become ubiquitous over the last twenty years. Although mobile station designs have become smaller and more compact, the basic structure of these devices has generally remained constant. As shown in FIG. 1, conventional mobile stations 100 (a mobile phone) include a durable shell 110 enclosing various operational elements. Such operational elements include a display (LCD, LED or the like) 150, a speaker port 154, a microphone port 155, a keypad 160, and associated electronic circuitry (not shown). Mobile stations also include antennas (not shown) for facilitating radio frequency (RF) communications and one or more batteries (not shown). An external power supply (not shown) such as an AC adaptor, power cord, battery charger and the like, may be connected through a power port 144.
In various applications, the circuitry driving the above operational elements (display, keypad, mobile station engine, etc.) is protected from damage by a durable shell 110 as shown. Such durable shells 110 are often comprised of polymers, metals, pressed sheets, and other similar materials. To ensure that the delicate circuitry and other components remain protected, the two halves 112 and 114 of the shell 110 are generally hermetically sealed via various known processes including ultra-sonic welding, adhesive bonding, etc. Unfortunately, the protection afforded by using a hermetically sealed shell 110 comes at the expense of mobile station design versatility. For example, consumers do not conventionally have the ability to swap internal components or electronic circuitry for newer, smarter or more powerful versions (as is relatively common in the personal computing industry). Further, consumers are unable to change the size, shape, color or structure of the mobile station. For example, consumers are unable to change conventional “mono-block” style mobile phones shown in FIG. 1, into “foldable” mobile stations as known in the art. Presently, consumers desirous of this or other substantive mobile station enhancement must purchase a new mobile station, likely at significant cost.